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A judge is considering a new trial for a woman convicted of murder in connection to a fatal 2006 wreck.

Nebula Denise McNeely, 50, also known as Denise Yvonne Williams, was found guilty in May 2008 of two counts of murder, one count of feticide, two counts of serious injury by vehicle, cruelty to children, fleeing and attempting to elude and misdemeanor shoplifting.

Then Superior Court Judge Duncan Wheale sentenced McNeely to three consecutive life sentences – one without the possibility of parole – plus 26 years in prison.

No one was injured in a fire that damaged a Martinez home Thursday afternoon.

Several neighbors and passersby called 911 just before 3 p.m. to report fire coming from the roof of a home at 466 Cambridge Way in the Watervale subdivision, according to Columbia County Fire rescue Battalion Chief Jimmie Paschal.

The owner, Carl C. Schutte, wasn’t home at the time. A neighbor said Schutte was out of town, Paschal said.

The theme of the 2014 Columbia County Schools Special Olympics was “All in 2 Win,” and each player and volunteer showed how much they all were.

The yearly event, held at Greenbrier High School’s Wolf Den Stadium, involved more than 200 Special Olympians competing in the games, with more than 400 student volunteers and 100 adult volunteers on hand to support the athletes.

It was evident from the smiles on their faces, that the volunteers who walked onto the football field happy to be a part of the event, including Maya Johnson, a senior at Greenbrier High School.

The following accounts were taken from Columbia County Sheriff’s Office incident reports:

Burglar busted septic tank

An Appling woman said whoever recently broke into her home also got her vehicle stuck in the mud and broke her septic tank.

The 61-year-old woman said she and her husband returned home on Friday after several days away and found the back door open. She also noticed her Chevrolet K5 Blazer was covered in mud. The vehicle was clean and the house was locked when the couple left several days prior.

GIW Industries is expanding facilities in Grovetown and Thomson and will add 80 jobs.

Grovetown-based GIW, a subsidiary of KSB AG of Germany, embarked in January on a five-year expansion at both plants to double manufacturing capabilities that service a global mining industry, said company President and CEO Dennis Ziegler.

“We’ve added equipment and we’ve added many millions of dollars of capital, but we’ve just run out of space,” said Ziegler, adding that the company has doubled in size over the past decade.

The 17-year-old daughter of former Columbia County News-Times sports editor Mike Howell, 50, is being held in the Richmond County jail, awaiting extradition to Nortn Carolina to face charges in her father’s slaying.

Crystal Brooke Howell, of Maggie Valley, N.C., was being held Monday at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center for North Carolina authorities, according to Richmond County jail records. She will remain in jail pending extradition proceedings. A hearing is set for Wednesday at 2 p.m. before Magistrate Judge Stephen Shepard, court officials said.